Method of and system for making synthetic fossils

ABSTRACT

A method of producing relief reproductions of natural fossils, especially fossile birds of the Jurassic geological period, wherein a color-faithful image of the natural fossil is applied to a white paperboard surface which is screen printed with a white pattern corresponding to the bone and other hard-portioned patterns of the fossil. From the natural fossil, male and female die members are formed, faithful to the contours of the fossil and are used to emboss the paperboard in registry with the aforementioned image. The relief reproduction thus produced is cut out from the paperboard along the outline of the image and is attached to a natural stone slab, preferably by being recessed in a cavity of similar outline.

i United States Patent 1191 Weigert *Nov. 4, 1975 METHOD OF AND SYSTEMFOR MAKING SYNTHETIC FOSSILS [76] Inventor: Franz Weigert,

Adalbert-Stifter-strasse 13, D-8858 Neuburg, Donau, Germany 21 Appl.No.: 321,734

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 116,197, Feb. 17,1971, Pat. No.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 19, 1970 Germany 2607643[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,660,211 5/1972 Brody264/293 X "SS/L 64) M SELF- HARDENING PLASTIC H col. OE PRINTING3,681,159 8/1972 Portnoy 264/293 X Primary ExaminerRobert F. White-Assistant Examiner-Thomas P. Pavelko Attorney, Agent, or FirmKarl F.Ross; Herbert Dubno ABSTRACT A method of producing relief reproductionsof natural fossils, especially fossile birds of the Jurassic geologicalperiod, wherein a color-faithful image of the natural fossil is appliedto a white paperboard surface which is screen printed with a whitepattern corresponding to the bone and other hard-portioned patterns ofthe fossil. From the natural fossil, male and female die members areformed, faithful to the contours of the fossil and are used to embossthe paperboard in registry with the aforementioned image. The reliefreproduction thus produced is cut out from the paperboard along theoutline of the image and is attached to a natural stone slab, preferablyby being recessed in a cavity of similar outline.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures THERMOPLASTIC PHOTO INA G E SCREEN PRINTINGkeses w US. Patent Nov.4, 1975 Sheet10f2 35917 786 U.S. Patent Nov. 4,1975 SILICONE RUBBER FOSS/L Sheet 2 of 2 SELF- HARDENING PLASTIC yaw/waxCOLOR PRINTING HEAT THERMOPLASTIC PHOTO IMAGE sc BEEN PEINI'ING IMAGEQ35 4/8 36 immnsoaao POSITIVE H MQ 3I 38 0 FIG. 5

MTUML SRDIYK SLAB METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR MAKING SYNTHETIC FOSSILS Thisis a division of application Ser. No. 116,197, filed Feb. 17, 1971, nowUS. Pat. No. 3,769,l 14 issued Oct. 30, 1973.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION My present invention relates to a method of and asystem for producing synthetic fossils or fossil reproductions and, moreparticularly, to a method of producing contour-faithful andcolor-faithful reproductions of fossil remains of animals, birds,reptiles and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Numerous methods of producing reproductionsof naturally occurring fossils have been proposed in the past. On onehand, there were attempts to provide images of a fossil on a flat sheetor substrate by photographic or printing methods and even by artisticrenderings. With increasing perfection of photographic art, it hasbecome possible to reproduce an image of the fossil which is almostperfect in the sense that all color nuances and variations arereproduced in the image. However, such flat portraits of the fossil areinherently unfaithful because of the inability of the photographicmethod to accurately convey the three-dimensional sense required by thecontours of the original subject.

On the other hand it has been proposed to provide three-dimensional orrelief reproductions of fossils, but the only methods which have gainedprominence in this line, are those which involve using the fossil as anembossing member and therefore may result in damage to the rarenaturally occurring subject, or those which build up a relief using thenaturally occurring fossil as a guide. Even when the latter reliefstructures are carefully painted or tinted, they are unfaithful to thecolor nuances and variations of the original. Hence the preparation orproduction of a three-dimensional or relief reproductions of a naturallyoccurring fossil has been a problem heretofore.

The problem is especially pronounced when attempts are made to formreproductions of winged, animal and reptile creatures of the upperJurassic period of the Mesozoic geological age, this period beingreferred to frequently as the Malm. In this period, dating some 140 to150 million years ago, the earliest winged creatures were embedded instrata which gave rise to the limestone beds of the upper Jurassicgeological period. Consequently, when slabs of fossil-containing upper Jurassic limestone are recovered, the fossil remains of such wingedcreatures are revealed with elevated regions or ridges corresponding tothe bone pattern of the creature and to the hard tissue, fins, ribs andthe like. In addition, the naturally occurring fossil includes nuancesand variations of color which are essential to the entire picture, aswell as variations of gloss or brightness which appear to arise from thefossilization process.

While color photographs of such fossils are highly faithful to the colornuances as noted above, they have been found to be unavailing whenreproduction of the contours is desired. Furthermore, the ridgescorresponding to the fins or skeletal system are highly sensi- OBJECTSOF THE INVENTION It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved method of making synthetic fossils orfossil reproductions whereby the aforementioned disadvantages areavoided. I

It is another object of my invention to provide an im: proved method ofmaking a fossil reproduction of low cost and high accuracy which doesnot detrimentally affect the natural fossil,

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method of making acolor-faithful and contour-faithful reproduction of a naturallyoccurring fossil, especially a winged creature of the Jurassic period,which has the weight and appearance of the naturally occurring fossil.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects which will becomeapparent hereinafter are attained, in accordance with the presentinvention, in a method of making a reproduction of a naturally occurringfossil which makes use of my discovery that embossed paperboard,suitably processed, constitutes a remarkable base for color-faithful andcontour-faithful reproductions.

More particularly, the paperboard having a white surface is colorprinted with an image of the naturally occurring fossil produced byconventional color photography, and is further screen printed with awhite or whitish pattern corresponding to the skeleton or fin structureof the fossil. A male (positive) and a female (negative) die member areprovided to impress the contours into the paperboard substrate inregistry with the color-faithful image, thereby constituting on theimage surface a relief faithful to the contours of the natural fossil.

I may provide a coating of a varnish oil in those areas in which glossmust be enhanced to correspond to the more glossy areas of the naturalfossil. The screen printing of a white pattern corresponding to theskeletal system of the fossil, moreover, applies texture which isincreased by the embossing operation to emphasize those portions of thefossil which remain in relief in the natural subject.

The process of the present invention makes use of the advantages ofmodern color photography and flat-process printing, e.g. offsetprinting, which impart the color image to the white paperboard surface.It will be appreciated that present techniques of color reproductionpermit the highly faithful transfer of the image of the original fossilto the paperboard substrate which is to be embossed subsequently in theformation of the three-dimensional or contoured synthetic fossil. Thepaperboard or cardboard preferably has a thickness such that 400 to 1000grams of the paper are provided per square meter, and a white surface.

I have already indicated that the embossing of the paperboard orcardboard is carried out with the aid of positive and negative (male andfemale) die members in a hydraulic or like press capable of deliveringpressures of lOO to 1000 kg per cm I prefer to make these die membersfrom hardboard and synthetic resin, preferably reinforced with wirescreen or fabric inlays, by originally casting a silicone rubber on thenatural fossil to produce a master negative. The latter serves as a formfor a positive likewise produced by casting, preferably of a fabricorscreenreinforced self-hardening resin capable of resisting compressiveforces and having low compressibility. Suitable materials for thispositive master are epoxy resins and polyacrylates cast in a solvent. Inthe next stepof the present process, the negative or female die memberis prepared by immersing the self-hardening positive into a body ofthermoplastic synthetic resin, preferably reinforced by a wire screen,grid or fabric, under heat and pressure to faithfully andcomplementarily reproduce the contours of the original fiber in reverseor negative form. The positive or male die member may be produced usingthe female die member as the template and preferably consists ofhardboard which may be deformed by the female die member under heat andpressure and can also be reinforced by a fabric, grid, or screen ofwire.

The male and female die members register with the paperboard image whichhas previously been overprinted by screen-printing techniques with theskeletal pattern, preferably in a white ink or paint, and after avarnish oil has been applied to those areas in which enhanced gloss isdesired. The positive and negative die members, prepared as indicatedabove, have been found to be useful without damaging the image surface.

According to still another feature of the invention,

- the closeness of the reproduction may be enhanced by mounting therelief paperboard upon a slab of natural stone preferably derived from astratum in which the original fossil was found or a similar stratum. Inthe case of a Jurassic fossils derived from limestone formations,therefore, the slab may be composed of limestone and the reliefpaperboard may be secured to it by conventional adhesive techniques. Ithas been found to be advantageous to cut out the image of the fossilalong its outline so that only the image is applied to the naturalstone. In practice, it has also been found to be advantageous to mill arecess in the natural stone along the contours of the cut-out paperboardrelief and adhesively to mount the latter in this recess.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other objects, features andadvantages of the present invention will become more apparent from thefollowing description, reference being made to the accompanying drawingin which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a fossil to be reproduced;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section through the flat unit prior toembossment;

FIG. 3 is a similar section after embossment;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section through an artificial fossil structureof the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a diagram representing the successive steps of the process.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION AND EXAMPLE In FIG. 1, I show a naturally occurringfossil in a natural limestone block 11 of the upper Jurassic period. Inthis case the fossil is a primitive winged creature l2 (ArchaeopterysLithographica) which has a skeletal system represented at 13 andportions of enhanced gloss at 14. The latter portions correspond to thewings of the creature. This fossil has an age of about to million yearsand is considered a precursor of the modern bird.

The fossil is reproduced basically from a paperboard substrate 1 of 400to 1000 g/m having a white upper surface la to which a colorreproduction of the fossil is applied by conventional color-printingtechniques. In this system, the fossil is photographed and colornegatives are prepared for offset printing of the surface in a flatstate. Once the image of the fossil has been printed as represented at2, regions corresponding to the skeletal system 13 may be screen printedin white ink or painted upon the color reproduction and a film ofvarnish oil 3 may be applied in areas corresponding to the high-glossregions of the naturally occurring fossil (FIG. 2). The substrate isthen pressed (FIG. 3) as shown at 4 between a male die member and afemale die member composed of material which does not damage the image.As illustrated in FIG. 4, a slab 6 of stone, preferably Jurassiclimestone corresponding to the limestone in which the original fossil isfound, is milled at 5 to provide a recess corresponding to the outlineof the reproduction. The reproduction 4 is set into this recess and heldin place by an adhesive 7 as illustrated in FIG. 4. Hence FIG. 1 showsthe finished product. This product has, of course, the coloration andconfiguration of the original fossil, a background and texturecorresponding to the natural fossil, and the feel or weight thereof.

In FIG. 5, I have shown diagramatically the sequence of steps in whichthe simulated fossil is formed. In step A, the naturally occurringfossil 11 in the limestone body 12 serves as a mold for the castingwithout pressure or heat which may damage the fossil, of silicone rubber13 forming a negative whose contours 14 faithfully reproduce,complementarily, the configuration of the original fossil. This siliconerubber negative may contain a wire screen, grid or fabric reinforcement15 which limits deformation of this negative during subsequent use.

In a second stage B, this silicone rubber negative 13 constitutes a moldfor the casting of self-hardening synthetic-resin plastic 16 which alsois provided with a wire grid, screen or'fabric reinforcement 17. Thisselfhardening plastic may be an epoxy resin as noted above which flowsinto all of the crevices of the negative mold member 13 and acquirespositive contours l8 corresponding to the contours of the originalfossil. Since the molding of the positive 16 takes place without heat orpressure, there is no distortion of the negative 13.

In the next state (C), a thermally softening or thermoplastic negative19 is fonned from a material such as polyacrylic resin with a wirescreen, grid or fabric reinforcement 20 by heating the surface 21 of theplastic block and applying the hard positive 16 under pressure from ahydraulic ram arrangement 22. The contours 21 of the thermoplasticmember 19, after hardening, constitute a negative against which theprinted paperboard can be deformed. In step D, the positive 23 is madeby pressing using the negative 19 and a ram 24, the positive having areinforcing grid 25 of the type previously described. The positive iscomposed of hardboard (stiff fiberboard) and corresponds faithfully incontour to the original fossil.

In step I, colateral with the sequence of steps previously described,the natural fossil 12 is photographed by a camera 30, the negatives ofwhich are used to flat print the paperboard sheet 31 by offset or likeprinting methods, represented as using a printing roller 32 in stage ll.The color printed image 33 on the paperboard 31 is overprinted by screenink or paint 34, generally of white color, to correspond to the skeletalstructure of the original fossil. In addition, varnish oil may beapplied as described in connection with FIG. 2. The paperboard 31,provided with the image, is pressed between die members 19 and 23 in ahydraulic press 35 capable of delivering a pressure of 100 to 1000kg/crn to yield the relief 36 indicated in step F. In this step, theimage is cut away from the paperboard along its outline and is appliedin step b with the aid of cement 37 to a slab 38 of natural limestonepreviously recessed in step a by a routing tool 40 or the like.

I claim: 1. A method of making a synthetic fossil comprising the stepsof:

photographing a natural fossil having a contoured surface to form acolor-faithful image of said natural fossil; imprinting a surface of aflat sheet with said colorfaithful photographically reproduced image ofsaid natural fossil; casting a master negative of said natural fossil;

6 casting a positive of said master negative; forming a male die memberand a female die member with the contours of said master negative andsaid positive and with complementary contours corresponding to those ofthe surface of said natural fossil;

pressing said sheet between said die members with the contours inregistry with the color-faithful image applied to said sheet to conformsaid sheet to the contoured surface of said natural fossil and produce athree-dimensional reproduction of said natural fossil from said sheet;and

cutting out said three-dimensional reproduction from said sheet alongthe outline of said contour and said image.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein said image is applied to saidsheet by screen-printing and said surface of said sheet apattern-bearing bone and rib configurations of the natural fossil.

3. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising the step ofvarnishing selected portions of said image to produce a gloss simulatingthe gloss of the natural fossil.

4. The method defined in claim 1 wherein said sheet is paperboard withthe weight of 400 to 1000 g/m and said die members are pressed againstsaid paperboard at a pressure of l to 1000 kg/cm

1. A METHOD OF MAKING A SYNTHETIC FOSSIL COMPRISING THE STEPS OF:PHOTOGRAPHING A NATURAL FOSSIL HAVING A CONTOURED SURFACE TO FORM ACOLOR-FAITHFUL IMAGE OF SAID NATURAL FOSSIL, IMPRINTING A SURFACE OF AFLAT-SHEET WITH SAID COLOR-FAITHFUL PHOTOGRAPHICALY REPRODUCED IMAGE OFSAID NATURAL FOSSIL, CASTING A MASTER NEGATIVE OF SAID NATURAL FOSSIL,CASTING A POSITIVE OF SAID MASTER NEGATIVE, FORMING A MALE DIE MEMBERAND A FEMALE DIE MEMBER WITH THE CONTOURS OF SAID MASTER NEGATIVE ANDPOSITIVE AND WITH COMPLEMENTARY CONTOURS CORRESPONDING TO THOSE OF THESURFACE OF SAID NATURAL FOSSIL. PRESSING SAID SHEET BETWEEN SAID DIEMEMBERS WITH THE CONTOURS IN REGISTRY WITH THE COLOR-FAITHFUL IMAGEAPPLIED TO SAID SHEET TO CONFORM SAID SHEET TO THE CONTOURED SURFACES OFSAID NATURAL FOSSIL AND PRODUCE A THREE-DIMENSIONAL REPRODUCTION OF SAIDNATURAL FOSSIL FROM SAID SHEET, AND
 2. The method defined in claim 1wherein said image is applied to said sheet by screen-printing and saidsurface of said sheet a pattern-bearing bone and rib configurations ofthe natural fossil.
 3. The method defined in claim 1, further comprisingthe step of varnishing selected portions of said image to produce agloss simulating the gloss of the natural fossil.
 4. The method definedin claim 1 wherein said sheet is paperboard with the weight of 400 to1000 g/m2 and said die members are pressed against said paperboard at apressure of 1 to 1000 kg/cm2.